Digital Star: HIV Prevention for Youth in Mental Health Treatment

Teenagers in mental health treatment are at greater risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. This greater risk comes from many factors, some of which are related to poor emotion regulation and low self-confidence. There is a need for an HIV prevention program specifically for these at-risk teens. The goal of this study is to develop a computerized HIV prevention study tailored to adolescents in mental health treatment. The first part of the study will develop core sessions of D\*STAR. It will do this by using focus group feedback from approximately 15 adolescents in mental health treatment, and approximately 10 parents of youth in mental health treatment and mental health treatment center staff. Feedback on D\*STAR prototype sessions will also be collected from two individual interviews with approximately 15 youth in mental health treatment. Core sessions will then be reviewed in an open trial with approximately 30 adolescents. The second part of the study will develop and refine digital versions of the remaining sessions of STAR and a digital general health promotion intervention. It will do this by using focus group feedback from approximately 20 adolescents in mental health treatment, and approximately 10 community advisory board members which include variety of staff from mental health treatment settings such as administrators, supervisors, therapists, health teachers at therapeutic schools, clinicians at day hospitals and day treatment programs, parents of youth in mental health treatment and from relevant community organizations, such as those serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. Feedback on D\*STAR prototype sessions will also be collected from two individual interviews with approximately 20 youth in mental health treatment. All developed sessions (from both Phase I and Phase II) will then be reviewed in an open trial with approximately 20 adolescents. A randomized control trial (RCT) will then be conducted to co